Excelsior Correspondent
RAJOURI, Sept 22: Provincial President National Conference Devender Singh Rana today castigated the former Army Chief General (Retd) V. K Singh for lowering the dignity of his high office by indulging in petty machinations, borne out of myopic mindset, to meddle with the destiny of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
“How can a person of the stature of Chief of the Army Staff don upon himself a role carved out for the people in a democratic country”, Mr Rana wondered while addressing National Conference convention at Nandian and Darhal block headquarters while winding up his four day tour of the border district of Rajouri.
The Provincial President said his party stands vindicated after the revelation of General Singh’s role in overthrowing the democratically elected Government led by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah in 2010 as his tenure in Kashmir had remained biased against NC. “Ever since the positioning of General Singh as GoC Victor Force in Kashmir, he had developed close links with South Kashmir based political elements and sustained this special relationship in his elevated capacities”, he said.
Referring to the connivance of local actors into the conspiracy against National Conference, the Provincial President said that Ghulam Hassan Mir, or for that matter Mufti Mohammed Sayeed, might be gods for the former Army Chief and NC leaders as demons but the fact remains that he has misused the uniform he donned by indulging in petty politics fraught with bias against his party.
“General Singh has betrayed the dignity of Indian soldier by his conduct”, he observed while emphasising the need for a thorough probe by a sitting Supreme Court Judge or Central Bureau of Investigation, keeping in view the sensitivity and the magnitude of the allegations against the former Army Chief.
Mr Rana disagreed to the views expressed by some that commenting over and investigating into the allegations will demoralize the armed forces and said “in fact, an independent investigation will bring out the truth, which will be equally in the interest of the Army”.